This invention relates to load weighing devices, and more particularly to a weighing scale for receiving and measuring small portions of food products delivered by gravity from a food slicing, grinding, grating, or other processing device by which food products are reduced to smaller size pieces.
Scales for weighing small portions of sliced meats and other food produce have been provided heretofore. One such scale is described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,602 issued to Eugene L. Sly, one of the inventors herein. The structure of that scale is such that it required a housing of such height that it cannot be placed upon the food receiving platform of conventional manual or automatic food slicers. Accordingly, the housing must be placed on the work counter adjacent the slicer, thereby taking up valuable counter space.
Further, the various conventional food slicers have integral food receiving platforms of diverse sizes and shapes located at diverse elevations above a work counter. It is necessary, therefore, that auxiliary legs of various heights be provided for removable attachment to such slicers, or to the scale housing, so as to orient the food receiving platform of the scale at proper elevation to receive food slices deposited thereon during operation of the slicer.
Additionally, the scale must be provided with interchangeable food receiving platforms of diverse dimensions in order that it may be placed in required position to receive the food slices directly from the slicer. Because of this requirement, the scale must be readjusted for each scale platform in order to insure accurate weight measurements.
The foregoing factors complicate incorporation of the scale with conventional slicers and contribute to inaccuracies in weighing food portions processed by different slicers.
Still further, the weighing mechanism of the scale described in the patent identified hereinbefore involves the movement of a scale pointer relative to a photoelectric beam to control the operation of a food slicer. This is a complex and costly arrangement, is slow in reaching stable read-out conditions even though damping mechanism is provided, requires considerable maintenance of the many moving parts, and is subject to damage by the inadvertent dropping of heavy food pieces or other objects onto the receiving platform.
Although other weighing systems, including those utilizing strain gauges, overcome some of the problems associated with the aforementioned pointer and photoelectric beam arrangement, none of them heretofore has been adapted for use directly on the food receiving platform of a conventional food slicer or other food processer. Indeed, they have not been able to weigh loads of less than about five pounds.